Scherzer Calls Ryan Braun Situation ‘Despicable’

DETROIT, MI - JUNE 17: Max Scherzer #37 of the Detroit Tigers reacts to a call made by home plate umpire Tim Timmons during the fifth inning of the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park on June 17, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers defeated the Orioles 5-1. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) DETROIT, MI - JUNE 17: Max Scherzer #37 of the Detroit Tigers reacts to a call made by home plate umpire Tim Timmons during the fifth inning of the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park on June 17, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers defeated the Orioles 5-1. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

DETROIT (CBS DETROIT) – Like many others who have spoken out in the last couple days, Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer apparently has zero sympathy for suspended Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun.

Obviously fired up, he didn’t mention teammate Jhonny Peralta, whose name is on the same list of about 20 players who were linked to now-closed anti-aging clinic Biogenesis, which was connected to performance-enhancing drugs. Braun is the only one on the list who has been suspended so far.

“With the Braun case, I think it’s absolutely despicable how he handled it,” Scherzer told USA Today before Tuesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. “I’m glad he got caught. He went out of his way to try to bring people down and cover up his lies and now he looks like Lance Armstrong.”

Armstrong, a cyclist who denied steroid use throughout his storied career and ripped the reputations of anyone who said he did take performance enhancers, recently admitted he had doped.

Braun tested positive in 2012, but the result was thrown out because of mishandling of the sample. When Braun was not suspended after all, he trumpeted his innocence and threw the sample handler under the bus.

Those proclamations are coming back to haunt Braun now that Braun has accepted a 65-game suspension that has him sidelined for the remainder of the season.

“There’s so much player outrage towards him because of how brash he was against MLB and how brash he was in his defense,” Scherzer said before Tuesday’s game.

Scherzer said Braun’s 65-game penalty is not harsh enough. Braun loses about $3 million of his $8.5 million salary this season but is under contract with the Brewers through 2020 thanks to a five-year, $105 million extension he signed in after his 2011 NL MVP season.

“MLB hasn’t closed the loophole to create the incentive to cheat. He still has his contract and he’s still financially gaining from this,” Scherzer said. “You gotta start cutting out contracts.”